By Gavin Mackintosh-
Croydon CEO, katherine Kerswell, is failing to comply with government guidelines in fully respondinmg to a complaint made by a woman suffering woth Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, after exceeding a week beyond the 28 day deadine generally required for councils to respond to complaints.
28 days is in fact 8 days beyond the 20 days deadline within which council chiefs or Mps are expected to respond to correspondences, as many councils adopt the extra week on top in extreme cases of backlog or other interferences. When exceeded, it signals either a care free attitude, or an extreme case of negligence, as known to take place in many failing councils today.
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Simone John developed Post Traumatic Stress from the trauma of witnessing her son(whose name we have withheld at her request) in a pool of blood shortly after he was stabbed the second time in four months. has written to the CEO of Croydon Council , highlighting her complaint of discriminatory and negligent treatment after her son was stabbed twice in a 4 month period, before which she had raised alarm with the council about the threat to his life, and begged them to move her.
The council is meant to respond to correspondence from the public within 20 days, but told her they would respond within 28 days. This period has lapsed by over one week, with the only communicatrion being a telephone call from Ms Kerswell early in the week, promising to get back to ill Simone John, 45.
The deadline set by departments and agencies for responding to correspondence should not exceed 20 working
days, according to a Uk governemnt guide to handling correposndence. All responses should be high quality, clear and accurate in line with the department’s published standards for handling correspondence.
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In exceptional circumstances where the is a delay, the guide expects the relevant body to express acknowledgement of the delay, and do its best to respond in as timely a fashion as possible, thereby meeting the nearest available date for response.
The guide explains such circumstances this way: ”While departments should respond to correspondence within 20 working days, there may be occasions where it is not possible to do so (for example, when the nature of the correspondence is very complex). In these instances, departments must ensure the correspondence is responded to as quickly as possible and must keep the correspondent informed, particularly when there is likely to be a significant delay in sending a full reply”.
Newly appointed CEO of Croydon Council, who was placed to transform a terribly failing council is already struggling in an open test. Kerswell already has the gigantic task of improving a messy council with a long trail of scandals, incompetence, and disorder .
This case is one that could easily been swept under the carpet like was done for 2 years, except this time Simone John has been mailing both the local and national press, including the BBC, as well as online media outlets to highlight her plight. She is already becoming irritated by the silence from other media outlets who seem to have given her the cold shoulder, though has to manage the conclusion than those outlets don’t find her case newsworthy enough, though it is.
”I think it is pure madness that everyone is ignoring me like I am not there. A BBC correspondent communicated with me once, then just disappeared. It looks like people just allow people do what they like. I am actually glad people like your publication are true to the course of justice. People can’t imagine how much self hate can be cause when those who should be listening to their complaints just ignore them.”
Ms John says she is traumatized by the sound of police sirens and the sight of young black youths in hoodies, because it makes her panic ever since she witnessed her son soaked in blood. The fact his arm is no longer functional and her son has become a different person, keeps the scenario very vivid oin her mind.
”it was the most scary feeling in the world, feeling that my son may die, and knowing that I did everything I could to prevent it, but was ignored continuously. I had to drop out of univeristy, which I had even started late at the time, after losing many years. I have been living a bit of a horror story since then, the recurring nightmares is something I am still fighting hard to beat.
”I want to see those who caused this brought to some kind of jsutice, but even now I don’t understand why the council is going past their deadline in dealing with my situation. It just drives me mad”
The mother of three from Croydon South London sent more than 30 emails over a 2 year period to officials from the council, detailing an impending danger facing her then 15 year old son, and asking to be moved out of the borough. She said the gang life culture in the borough had left her terrified for her sons life, after he was confronted and threatened by a group of thugs over a mutual friend they had.
But time after time, she was routinely ignored by councillors and cabinet ministers despite her desperate call for help. Social workers assigned to her dragged their feet on her case, and left the council without addressing the woman’s desperate need to move, or assigning the duty to someone else.
Croydon Council have admitted Ms Jones was failed by a range of professionals who should have done better for her.
A complaint she made to Croydon MP Sarah Jones, was allegedly dealt with half heartedly, though the MP actually invited the woman to her office to a chat. Ms Jones said she received limited help from the Mp after that point .
Ms John’s situation became so bad, she was prescribed heavy medication to handle her PTSD.
Her situation is made worse by the and claims to see one of the councillors- Simion Hall- in horrifying nightmares, where he is teasing her.
Mr. Hall lived in the vicinity of the troubled mother , but responded to only one of her emails in which he arranged a meeting between them, but ignored her subsequent emails, after she could not make the first meeting because of ither issues releating to her son that came up on the day he suggested for a meeting.
She has called for Simon Hall, and everyone who ingnored her to be held to account.
After her friends contacted The Eye Of Media.Com in 2020, we made contact with the offices of both her old Mp, Sarah Jones, and her new Mp, James Brokenshire to find out why she had been treated so badly.
Ms John , who is of Carribean decent has alleged potential racism, claiming some members of the council had met her and knew what she looked like. ” I think racism is a strong possibility here, I can’t underdstand why else they would treat someone as horribly as that. Just ignore me like I don’t exist”.
However, the serious council’s incompetence goes deeper than just one woman., and has other explanations.
The council has been led by a bunch of individuals who have together been one of the worst to be placed in top positions.
Hundreds of residents in Croydon have suffered severe neglect by the council, enduring the effects of damp and mould in their accommodation for over 4 years, without silution in sight.
The council became bankrupt after lending £200m to a house buiding firm that delivered just 3 purpose built council homes in five years. Living conditions in a couple of council flats in a tower block off Regina Road in South Norwood were condemned as “dangerous squalor” and “appalling” in a television news report that exposed the shameful council.
Some families unplugged their fridge for up to 3 months for fear of elecrocution, others suffered with no electiricity in some parts of their accomodation, making life impossible for their school children who could not even do as basic as homework under those terrible conditions.
The woman, whose son was stabbed twice, is waiting desperately for a response to her complaint, and detailed clarifications they have asked the council to make in relation to her complaints.
Katherine Kerswell’s office was contacted for comment.
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